I agree, I love the idea of using recipe cards like my mom used to do. But it just doesn't seem practical in this day and age...

Oh yes, very useful...I use them all the time!

outdated. i can barely get myself to use the dozens of cookbooks i own. i tend to just look up a recipe online.

I think recipe cards are useful for a couple reasons:

1) easy to pass on to children as they grow up and/or you grow old.
2) easily make changes to recipies.
3) most importantly, track changes and add comments. Sometimes with recipes I make changes that I like initially, but later on want to remember how I _used_ to make it.
4) easy to thumb through when I can't think of what to cook.

I like them, and have some, but lately I print out online recipes on 8x11 paper and put them in plastic sleeves in a binder instead. Or bring my laptop into the kitchen and get flour and other detritus all over it, which I'm SURE is good for it. :p

Same as MELISSAKAY... HOWEVER, I do love tweaking my recipes and always end up with a slightly different version, store it on my computer, then print as needed, which I'm starting to see as wasteful. I wonder about printable recipe cards, that would be great!

I use them for stealing recipes from family and friends. Not the only way I save recipes, but they have a purpose :)

My boyfriend's mother takes all her favorite recipes and writes them down on recipe cards (she's a FANTASTIC cook!). She laminates them and keeps them in a box in her kitchen. She's shown me, but my boyfriend doesn't know about them, and I know she will give them to us at some point when we have a house of our own. I think it's a lovely idea- and even if I don't use them, I know that we'll still have a part of her with us.

I picked up a great set of recipe cards that slip into plastic sleeves on a stand like a desk calendar. I use it for my favorite recipes so that I don't have to go searching through my pinterest pins, bookmarks, or evernote. I like having it right there on the counter for easy access and plus I don't have to worry about getting flour or butter smeared on my laptop.

I haven't used recipe cards in years. I get most of the recipes online, so I only need my laptop or my tablet. I don't even print them anymore. But I can see the appeal of using recipe cards. A recipe handwritten by your grandma has a sentimental vibe that cannot be replaced. I don't have kids but I'd handwrite some good recipes for someone special.

I don't usually use recipe cards when cooking, but my mom has used them to decorate her kitchen.
She took recipes from both of her grandmothers, a recipe from her mother, and a recipe from her mother-in-law and framed them simply with white backgrounds. The recipes are old, hand-written, and stained from being used. They look beautiful in her kitchen and have always been great conversation starters for people hovering in the kitchen during parties, etc.

I'd be glad to give any potential descendants my recipe binders/spreadsheet/internet bookmarks, but that doesn't justify the hassle of using exclusively (or even mostly) recipe cards in my kitchen while I'm alive.

Like the poster, however, cute recipe cards in little letterpress shops often catch my eye. I keep a few (no more than 20 at a time) around for giving recipes to friends when they ask for them.

I very intentionally write my favourite recipes on index cards, I want the food stained, dog eared recipes to pass on to my own family, the way my mom pulls out hers. It takes time, and often I'll sit down and write a few at a time (until my hand cramps up!) But there is something very personal about hand written recipes. That is why, even though I don't enjoy writing them, when asked for a recipe I write them down on a card to give away. The biggest bonus? I know exactly where they are, the site is never down, and it doesn't matter if my computer is in the shop. I can still cook!

I designed my own and print a new one out each time I find a recipe we like enough to make it a "keeper." I laminate them and store them in a little drawer unit in my pantry. To avoid waste, I usually make the recipe a second time to be sure I like the ingredients and instructions just as they are and can make note of any changes I've made before printing and laminating.

I'm not willing to risk damaging expensive electronics like my laptop or iPad in the kitchen, so recipe cards work well for me, but I can see it being too much of a hassle to most people.

When I got to cook, I write everything on a 4x6 lined index card, that way it's all in front of me, and I can jot down adjustments I make or comments. Then, sometimes I re-write it neatly on a new index card (or if the changes aren't too much and I didn't spill I just keep the original one), and sometimes I type it into my computer, depending on when I think I'll use it again and what I'll use it for. I like having things stored in the computer, but I like the size and shape of the index card over a full piece of paper or printout.

When I started doing this my original plan was the print out photos of the recipe to glue to the back of the card, if that helps anyone. Haven't done it yet though (and it's been at least 5 years that I've been doing this).

When my mother-in-law died in July, I asked if I could have her recipe cards. There are hundreds of them, and so personal because they are in her handwriting--not to mention stained and worn from so much use over the years. I'm more of the type to just print something out online, but having her recipes preserved like this is truly a gift. I'm now working my way through them.

Those little cards are too SMALL! But I do like my recipes on paper because I make notes. When my daughter was about 3, she took one of my cookbooks and wrote ANY in big scrawl next to the pictures she likes. When I asked she said it meant, "You can make that for me any time. It looks good." You can't do that online. Most of my mom's recipes are on 8 1/2" by 11" notebook paper.

I think they are a little outdated, since there is an app for nearly everything why not have a nice recipe app? I am a big fan of PepperPlate. It allows you to import recipes from just about every other recipe site and has a handy bookmark button to add to your browser. Comes complete with a menu planner and a shopping list. The website will sync to your iThing app and you have it all with you! If I had a tablet of some kind I would be more inclined to NOT print the recipe that I was about to assemble, but for the time being I print and store in a binder that lives on top of my microwave.

I do value the idea of handing down recipes for generations, as I have just inherited my grandmothers recipe box. However, I plan to digitize them and make books to distribute to everyone in the family. That way everyone will be able to cook up some memories of grandma and there will be no squabbling over recipes.

I love the way recipe cards look, but they aren't usually large enough for me to fit the whole recipe on.

Whenever my mom emails me a recipe, I write it on a recipe card and tuck it into my recipe notebook. That way, I don't always have to search through the millions of emails I have from my mom to find that recipe.

Cute cards make a great gift, but my recipes live either in my ibox, my bookmark bar, or in a file of printed out recipes that are all stained and sticky.

I love recipe cards as they are almost like scrapbooking my cooking memories through recipes. I usually write where I get recipes and when, maybe include details about memorable times I've cooked the dish (like for our wedding rehearsal, or for my sister the day she was in the hospital after her baby was born and she didn't want to eat yucky hospital food so I snuck it in, etc.) When I find a classic standard recipe that works perfectly for me and I know I'll want to use forever (like the perfect biscuits, cornbread, pizza dough, pound cake, pesto, yogurt, etc.) I write it down on a card so I don't have to go hunting for the recipe in some book or on some website every time I want to make it. If someone has a wonderful recipe that I ask them for, I try and take them a recipe card and get them to write it in their own handwriting so I can see the person's own writing who gave it to me every time I use the recipe.

My mom and MIL still pass on recipes to me this way and I am more than happy to have them as they tend to be of the tried and true variety. I even have a cute little recipe box tin to hold them in.

I tend to use recipe cards to share my recipes to others. I cherish the hand written cards i have from my grandmothers. I also have a binder full of family recipes on 8.5 x 11 paper, which leaves lots of room for making my own changes to the recipes. In the binder some of the pages are scanned color copies of family recipes on recipe cards.

Sigh...I LOVE the idea of recipe cards but not the use/practicality of them. They're always too small to properly get a recipe on neatly unless done on the computer and secondly, I never think to use them! 9 times out of 10, I either grab my laptop and pull up a recipe or, more common, a scrap of paper/back of an envelope/post-it and, I don't need instructions usually, so I scribble amounts needed and bake temps and things. I have a nasty habit that, if it was good, I tuck it in my favorite cookbook, exploding full of scraps of paper, and since it doesn't even have what it is or anything, I have a monster pile of mystery foods that some were amazing. I'm not the most organized!

I tried getting a notebook and writing out neatly all my favorite recipes to combat this and to solve the too small recipe card problem but I never update it now.

I use a digital version of recipe cards. I've tried a few services for this, but Evernote seems to work the best for me, especially since the source for most of my recipes are from blogs, online recipe hubs, etc. You can make notes on whatever you 'clip,' which is an easy way to keep track of recipe changes, alterations, etc. Also, I can use my iPod to access it, which means I don't have to lug the laptop into the kitchen. Win, win, win.

I use cards on a rare basis, in bound format. I'm working from the internet when cooking far more often these days, and using evernote to keep a record of my recipes and photos.

I have two boxes full of recipe cards and I use them each week. I had pretty much switched from the index cards to just bringing my computer into the kitchen until one fateful day. I had bookmarked my favorite Mole recipe and when I went back to use it the person who posted it had removed her account on the website. It was gone. I have since been looking for a new recipe that comes close to that one, but have yet to find it. From that day on I went back to writing all the recipes I like from the internet on my trusty index cards that live in a drawer in my house. Plus, I don't have to bring my computer into the kitchen (where it stands a chance of being ruined or at least getting dirty) now either.

My recipe cards tell the story of my life. If I try a new recipe, and it's a keeper I will hand copy it to a card and file it in my recipe box. I will often put the date (" Made Thanksgiving, 2011", etc) when I made the item in question right on the card along with any notes, like whether or not it is a favorite of my son. When a friend makes something that I particularly like I will ask her to please write it for me on one of my cards and I will filer it away in my box. There is something comforting to me to have all of those special memories, written as recipes, in a box on my kitchen counter.

I love recipe cards -- but I don't put recipes on them until I have tested them at least once, and then I prefer the 4x6 cards, not 3x5 -- and sometimes I tape two together with some packing tape to make sure I have enough space for all the instructions.

They're more convenient than bringing the laptop into the kitchen and having to keep jiggling the touchpad with greasy/floury hands every time the screensaver pops up. That said, I only write out recipe cards for recipes I use a lot. The laptop still joins me in the kitchen for all the new recipes as all the flour stuck underneath the keys could tell you.

For people who like to use them, they're useful. Apart from that, why would anyone else care?

What a timely post?! Just this weekend, I decided that I should transfer all of my recipes from my inbox to a recipe box. Although it's not realistic that I would use them since I don't use my cookbooks.

I've turned my email inbox into a recipe box. I email recipes to myself and simply search my inbox by keyword when I need one. It only takes a few seconds and they will be in my inbox forever unless and until Gmail dies. :o

I love recipe cards... when I'm sharing recipes. When I'm cooking it's all digital. So much easier to search by name or ingredients in a phone app or computer than through stacks of cards. But when I'm sharing a recipe with a friend or family member, having a card is wonderful.

My friend made a great site called eggandtoast.com that acts as an online recipe box. It's an easy way to create, add and save cards and they pull up nice even on a phone. You can also print your recipes and share/borrow recipes from other users. It's still being worked on, but I recommend it!

I use recipe cards all the time! Any recipe I have used more than once is on a card. I find most of my recipes online but I don't like bringing my phone/laptop into the kitchen with me because I'm worried about ruining it either from my messy hands or from something spilling.

I experimented around with a lot of different methods, and in the end the recipe cards won out as the best. I use the internet or a notebook I copy a recipe down into when I first make something on it's trial run, but if it makes it into the good enough to be in my regular arsenal, then I'll write it onto a recipe card (and damn etsy stationers, could you please make some double sized recipe cards fot the complex recipes please! The kind that fold over, So many of the really cute ones are only designed to look good not to ever put a recipe for something more complex than Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches on. ) The cards are handy to clip to the cupboard door while I'm cooking, grab and put in a stack when I'm trying to sort out party menus, or bring with. Binders were just too awkward and in the way for me, and it was way more work to take a page out and put it back than it is to grab a card out of the file. And using the internet only is a pain, I can look on my phone, but I have to keep waking it up, or adjusting, and I find I have a tendency to skip words or sentences and thus direction when reading off a web page as opposed to paper. So since I have to write down th recipe to execute it anyway, I keep the bookmarks around, but for a forever solution in the kitchen cards just work better.

I absolutely LOVE them! I designed up my own, and use them for recipes I find online. The recipes must be tested and loved before they make their way to a card. I love picking through them when I need inspiration for a meal!

I have scads of scraps of paper, old used envelopes, etc with recipes (and notes) scribbled on them. I'd give my left arm for a nice, fancy recipe box and set of letter pressed recipe cards, but while I've seen cards I adore, I've yet to find a box I really like. In the meantime, they'll have to live tucked into the back of my dilapidating copy of The Joy of Cooking.

Unfortunately outdated.

I'm grabbing some as soon as I can find the perfect recipe box, that's my only obstacle. I don't think they can be called outdated now that it seems some people still have use for them.

I keep recipes on the computer but I also print the ones I love and stick them into a binder in a plastic sleeve. In my binder, I also have photo sleeves that hold precious recipe cards. They not only hold great recipes, but hand written loving memories of the women in my family. Bits of other things have made their way into these binders - pictures, notes and little doodads. They've turned into kitchen memory books!

I've never used recipe cards and neither did my mother, but she always wrote right in the cookbook. My siblings and I have cookbooks of hers that are filled with comments like "when doubling, add an extra egg" and "for Kevin's graduation - Shannon helped" with dates. Now I do the same thing.

So I get and give the sentimental benefit without spending time and money creating yet more objects that take up space!

I also write all my "keepers" on very informal recipe cards. For me, they're easier to access this way and I can simply pin them to the fridge while I cook. I also love how personal the handwritten mark is. Its almost the only time I actually write something substantial.

As for the cute letterpress cards, I really like them, but they all seem to be more cute than practical. And expensive.

Lovely, sweet, wonderfully nostalgic heirlooms that are sadly horribly outdated.

They're too small for complex recipes, generally no room for pictures for the visual thinker, can't be searched, can't be organized by multiple tags, can't be easily backed up.

Much like photos I think it's really nice to have a few heirloom pieces printed out, but generally they're more "nice" than useful to me.

Useful. I just sent one in each invitation to my sister's bridal shower so everyone can share with her one of their favorite recipes and she will have an instantly full recipe box. I got the card as a printable template from etsy, so I can also copy and paste recipes from the web onto the cards or just type them up. I'm too messy of a cook to use a laptop/tablet in the kitchen, so I will be sticking with my recipe cards for sure.

I use recipe cards as placeholders for often-used recipes in my cookbook or magazine collection. Instead of marking pages or tearing out recipes from magazines, I write down the recipe name, book/magazine title , issue #, and page # on a recipe card that I file in Gramma T's old metal box. When I thumb through and find something that sounds good, I have the reference necessary to go look it up. All of my favorites are in one place, and new ideas are neatly filed for future reference.

The idea of a recipe card is still relevant - people still uses recipes, however not in the traditional form. eRecipeCards is what we all need. No idea if there's a place where you can create and save them, but that'd be the solution. At least for me.